Tom Waits - Union Square

I caught a Tom Waits tribute night last Friday. It was the best $5 I spent in a long time. I missed Tom Waits, but I didn't even know I missed him. It's like The Kinks or Nick Drake - you hardly ever purposely listen to their albums, but when you stumble upon one of their songs, you wonder why not? Yes, Tom Waits is not for everyone. Yes, everyone knows that already. He went from crooner, to jazz crooner, to weird jazz crooner, to just plain weird. Union Square, off Rain Dogs, is my favorite Waits. A growling Waits. A Waits that sounds like a half-crazy homeless man that you can't take your eyes off of. Makes me want to go back to downtown Manhattan, in the 80s, at night, in the rain.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

I was raised up believing, that I would never hear a song about conformity that made me be the man I wanted to be. But alas, this intrepid quartet from Seattle, WA, never ceases to amaze me. Their eponymous debut doesn't just stand head and shoulders above all other 2008 releases, it lives in another world. "Helplessness Blues" is the road-weary first cousin of the Foxes' previous releases: thumping, moving, yearning, unaware yet serene, assured yet apprehensive, rhythmic, forward-looking and optimistic. "If I had an orchard I'd work 'till I'm sore" croons Robin Pecknold; you can pretty much taste the sun-kissed juices flowing out of that nectarine. Their music is more than just sweet, and the upcoming album will be anything but helpless.